> European bourses rise with industrial and healthcare stocks in demand.
> Investors on look out for further Trump rhetoric on EU at meeting with Putin.
> Asian stocks knocked as China Q2 GDP growth is slowest since 2016.
> Earnings season continues with numbers due from Netflix and Bank of America.
> Wall Street indices expected to tick higher in opening trade.
> Dollar slips back after run to an 11-session high leaves it looking tired.
> ZTE rallies after US ban lifted.
> Xiaomi slumps on exclusion from stock connect trading.

Leading quote:

“There is no doubt that President Trump has been highly positive for US equity markets, which has fed through to rising global markets, but his increasingly erratic behaviour is making it very difficult for investors to work out whether he remains a friend or foe” — Rebecca O’Keeffe, head of investment at Interactive Investor.

“The first of the Faangs to report, Netflix earnings are hugely important for investors to confirm whether the outperformance of technology stocks is warranted or if the market has got ahead of itself.”

Hot topics:

European bourses are rising, with demand for healthcare and industrial stocks helping to keep indices positive.

But sentiment remains cautious as investors factor news of China’s slowest pace of economic growth since 2016 into their assessment of the dangers posed by the international trade dispute.

Earnings season will move back into focus toward the US trading day, with numbers due from Netflix, Bank of America and BlackRock.

According to futures trade, the S&P 500 will rise 0.1 per cent in opening trade.

Asian stocks fell and the dollar is slipping back from its advance to an 11-session high touched on Friday.

With President Donald Trump meeting his Russian counterpart in Helsinki, sharp White House rhetoric toward the EU has added to the uncertainty.

Equities:

European bourses are rising, as demand for healthcare and industrial stocks helps limit declines to Asia.

Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax 30 is up 0.2 per cent, with support from ThyssenKrupp, the steelmaker, after reports it is considering merging its elevator business with Kone.

The region-wide Europe-wide Stoxx 600 is also up 0.2 per cent, while the CAC 40 in Paris is 0.1 per cent firmer. London’s FTSE 100 is holding steady.

Asia-Pacific equities were mostly lower after official Chinese data showed the country’s economy expanded 6.7 per cent in the second quarter.

The GDP reading reflected the impact of an aggressive deleveraging campaign on reduced investment in infrastructure and manufacturing.

The CSI 300 index of major mainland stocks lost 0.6 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.1 per cent.

Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 was off 0.4 per cent, with gains for telecoms and consumer stocks failing to offset declines for the financial and basic materials segments.

US indices ended last week on a positive note, with the S&P 500 at a five-month high and the Nasdaq Composite hitting a record peak as earnings season began.

Markets in Japan were closed for a national holiday.

Forex:

The euro is up 0.1 per cent at $1.1697, while the pound is 0.2 per cent higher at $1.3254. Japan’s yen is steady at ¥112.41 per dollar.

In China, the onshore renminbi exchange rate, which moves within a trading band of 2 per cent to either side of a midpoint, was steady at Rmb6.6893 against the dollar.

Commodities:

Oil prices are weaker, with Brent crude down 0.4 per cent at $75.03 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate off 0.7 per cent at $70.55.